Frank Luntz, a top Republican strategist and pollster, said Wednesday that the National Rifle Association's recent calls for armed guards to be stationed at every school in the wake of the Newtown, Conn. massacre suggested the organization isn't listening to public opinion on the issue.

“The public wants guns out of the schools, not in the schools, and they're not asking for a security official or someone else," Luntz said on CBS’s “This Morning,” responding to a proposal first floated by top NRA lobbyist Wayne LaPierre during a press conference last week.

"I don’t think the NRA is listening. I don’t think that they understand," Luntz continued. "Most Americans would protect the Second Amendment rights and yet agree with the idea that not every human being should own a gun, not every gun should be available at anytime, anywhere, for anyone. That at gun shows, you should not be able to buy something there and then without any kind of check whatsoever. What they're looking for is a common-sense approach that says that those who are law-abiding should continue to have the right to own a weapon, but that you don’t believe the right should be extended to everyone at every time for every type of weapon.”

Luntz conducted a survey of gun owners both affiliated and unaffiliated with the NRA earlier this year, which found broad support for certain provisions that would restrict the sale of guns.

Among NRA members, 74 percent said they support background checks as a requirement for concealed carry permits. Recent polls of the broader American populace have showed higher levels of support for that and other gun control measures which the NRA has historically opposed.

Rep. Ron Paul: NRA plan to put armed guards in schools is not the solution

Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) spoke out on Monday against trying to solve gun violence with government legislation — even legislation like the National Rifle Association’s plan to place armed guards in every school in the country.

In a letter posted on his website, Paul admonished both sides of the aisle for being too quick to ask for legislation to prevent gun violence in schools.

“Many Americans believe that if we simply pass the right laws, future horrors like the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting can be prevented,” he wrote. “But this impulse ignores the self evident truth that criminals don’t obey laws.”

Paul criticized the Left for rushing to call for harsher gun control. He then took a swing at conservatives — and the NRA — for falling into the same trap of asking for more legislation in the form of school guards.

“While I certainly agree that more guns equals less crime and that private gun ownership prevents many shootings, I don’t agree that conservatives and libertarians should view government legislation, especially at the federal level, as the solution to violence,” Paul wrote.

The Congressman stressed that government policies cannot solve the problems of American society and only succeed in limiting the freedoms of Americans in the name of ‘safety.’

“Government role is to protect liberty, not to pursue unobtainable safety,” he wrote.

Paul is not alone in his denouncement of the NRA plan. Liberals and conservatives alike have criticized the organization’s strategy, especially in light of the looming fiscal cliff. The NRA plan is estimated to cost the federal government billions of dollars.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie also said he didn’t support the plan.

“I am not someone who believes that having multiple armed guards in every school is something that will enhance the learning environment,” Gov. Chris Christie said last week. “You don’t want to make this an armed camp for kids.”